Communications Platform System

ABSTRACT

A system and method are disclosed and include databases that store data describing electronic communication between one or more user devices and one or more company devices and a computer. The computer displays a graphical user interface for monitoring communication activity of one or more one or more user devices and one or more company devices, to one or more company devices and monitors communication activity over one or more communication channels. The computer also records and stores the communication activity in the databases. The computer further displays a list of rules, the list of rules comprising triggers, conditions and actions for each of the one or more rules and a flow of each rule associated with the company of the one or more company devices and executes one or more actions responsive to one or more triggers, conditions or actions of each of the one or more rules.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/086,851, filed on Nov. 2, 2020, entitled “Communications PlatformSystem,” which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/167,981, filed on Oct. 23, 2018, entitled “Communications PlatformSystem,” now U.S. Pat. No. 10,839,399, which is a continuation-in-partof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/651,372, filed on Jul. 17, 2017,entitled “Customer Management System,” now U.S. Pat. No. 10,296,915,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/485,626,filed on Sep. 12, 2014, entitled “Customer Management System,” now U.S.Pat. No. 9,710,814. The application also claims the benefit under 35U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/575,609, filedOct. 23, 2017, and entitled “Communications Platform System.” U.S.patent application Ser. No. 17/086,851, U.S. Pat. Nos. 10,839,399,10,296,915, and 9,710,814, and U.S. Provisional Application No.62/575,609 are assigned to the assignee of the present application.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to a system and method ofcustomer communications and interactions and specifically to acommunications platform system.

BACKGROUND

With the increasing complexity of customer relationships and mountingpressure to provide outstanding customer service, companies arestruggling to meet their customers' expectations. Customer relationshipsnaturally evolve over time, however, challenges arise when companies usemultiple applications and systems to organize and view customerrelationship data, or when data is complicated by duplicate or outdatedinformation. As a result, most companies are unable to achieve acomplete view of each customer and their history. This means companiesare hearing from customers more, but understanding less. It's importantthat multiple data sets can be seamlessly accessed and organized in onedashboard or user interface in order to maintain a holistic view of eachcustomer. Without a solution, these problems can lead to a degradedcustomer experience, causing dissatisfied customers. Therefore, previoustechniques of attempting to achieve a single view of the customer haveproven inadequate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived byreferring to the detailed description when considered in connection withthe following illustrative figures. In the figures, like referencenumbers refer to like elements or acts throughout the figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates the platform interface of FIG. 1 according to anembodiment;

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate the communication devices of the one or moreentities and the one or more end user systems of FIG. 1 in greaterdetail according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary method according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects and applications of the invention presented herein are describedbelow in the drawings and detailed description of the invention. Unlessspecifically noted, it is intended that the words and phrases in thespecification and the claims be given their plain, ordinary, andaccustomed meaning to those of ordinary skill in the applicable arts.

In the following description, and for the purposes of explanation,numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the various aspects of the invention. It will beunderstood, however, by those skilled in the relevant arts, that thepresent invention may be practiced without these specific details. Inother instances, known structures and devices are shown or discussedmore generally in order to avoid obscuring the invention. In many cases,a description of the operation is sufficient to enable one to implementthe various forms of the invention, particularly when the operation isto be implemented in software. It should be noted that there are manydifferent and alternative configurations, devices and technologies towhich the disclosed inventions may be applied. The full scope of theinventions is not limited to the examples that are described below.

As described more fully below, aspects of the following disclosurerelate to the communication and interactions between companies andcustomers. According to one aspect, embodiments provide for anenterprise level system that assures data integrity in a non-siloedcloud datastore and leverages the information stored in the clouddatastore for analytical purposes. For example, a rules engine, in theanalytical system, leverages machine learning, natural languageprocessing and artificial intelligence to understand and predictcustomers and users' behavior. According to a second aspect, the clouddatastore provides for data integrity and the ability for companies toachieve full transparency between customers and company team members. Asan example only and not by way of limitation, a company may leverage arules engine to automate tasks and processes to assure operationalconsistency, such as, case management, scheduling, user management,permission management, role settings and the like. In addition, or as analternative, a company may capture sentiments such as a customer'slikelihood of recommending products or services and the customer'soverall satisfaction, which trigger marketing and service strategies ofthe company.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system 100, according to a firstembodiment. System 100 comprises platform interface 110, cloud datastore120, one or more entities 130, one or more end user systems 140,communication channels 150, a network 160, and communication links161-165. Although platform interface 110, cloud datastore 120, one ormore entities 130, one or more end user systems 140, communicationchannels 150, a single network 160, and communication links 161-165 areshown and described, embodiments contemplate any number of platforminterfaces, cloud datastores, entities, end user systems, communicationchannels, networks, or communication links, according to particularneeds.

In one embodiment, platform interface 110 comprises server 112 anddatabase 114. The server is programmed to communicate and interact withcloud datastore 120, one or more entities 130 and one or more end usersystems 140 and provide data integrity which allows full transparencybetween one or more entities 130 and one or more end user systems 140 tocreate a single view of customer account and relevant information, asdiscussed below in more detail. Database 114 comprises one or moredatabases or other data storage arrangements at one or more locations,local to, or remote from, platform interface 110. In one embodiment, oneor more databases is coupled with one or more servers using one or morelocal area networks (LANs), metropolitan area networks (MANs), wide areanetworks (WANs), network 160, such as, for example, the Internet, or anyother appropriate wire line, wireless, or any other communication links.One or more databases stores data that is made available and may be usedby one or more servers, according to the operation of system 100.

In another embodiment, cloud datastore 120 comprises server 122 anddatabase 124. Cloud datastore 120 provides a centralized datastore forone or more entities 130, such that, the data uploaded to clouddatastore 120 is segregated and secure for each particular entity 130.In addition, ore as an alternative, cloud datastore 120 provides sharedcomputer processing resources and data according to the operation ofsystem 100. As discussed below in more detail, platform interface 110may be located internal or local to cloud datastore 120, according toparticular needs. Server 122 comprises any server or computer systemconfigured to access, update and provide data associated with one ormore entities 130 and/or one or more end user systems 140, as discussedbelow in greater detail.

Database 124 comprises one or more databases or other data storagearrangements at one or more locations, local to, or remote from,platform interface 110. In one embodiment, one or more databases iscoupled with one or more servers using one or more LANs, WANs, MANs,network 160, such as, for example, the Internet, or any otherappropriate wire line, wireless, or any other communication links. Theone or more databases stores data that is made available and may be usedby one or more servers according to the operation of system 100.

In an embodiment, one or more entities 130 may be any entity, such as,for example, a business, company, enterprise, retailer, call-center,customer service system, help desk system, telephone or media service,or any entity which communicates with customers, either its owncustomers or the customers of another entity. One or more entities 130comprise one or more servers 132, one or more communication devices 134and one or more databases 136 or other data storage arrangements at oneor more locations which are integral to or separate from the hardwareand/or software that supports system 100. As discussed in more detailbelow, each communication device 134 provides one or more entities 130 achannel of communication via communication channels 150 between end usersystems 140 and entities 130. One or more entities 130 are coupled toone or more end user systems 140 via communication channels 150 bynetwork 160 via communication links 163 and 164.

In one embodiment, one or more end user systems 140 comprises an enduser system such as, for example, a business partner, vendor, businesscustomer, an online or in-store customer, a member of an organization,an individual or group of individuals or the like. One or more end usersystems 140 comprises server 142, communication devices 144 and database146. Each communication device 144 provides one or more end user systems140 a channel of communication via communication channels 150 betweenone or more entities 130 and one or more end user systems 140. One ormore end user systems 140 are coupled to one or more entities 130 viacommunication channels 150 by network 160 via communication links 163,164 and 165.

In embodiments, communication channels 150 comprises channels ofcommunication such as, for example, voice 151, email 152, chat 153, SMS154, social media 155, surveys 156, email marketing 157, help center158, and collaboration task management 159. These communication channels150 may leverage third party products or services, such as for example,social media platforms, email systems, or the like. In addition, or asan alternative, embodiments contemplate integrating APIs, where forexample, third-party products may be integrated into the backend orcommunication interface of platform interface 110. Although one or morechannels of communication are shown and described, embodimentscontemplate any number or any type of communication channels, accordingto particular needs.

As discussed in more detail below, one or more entities 130 maycommunicate with or receive communication from one or more end usersystems 140 or any other third party entity using communication channels150. This communication may be, for example, telephone calls, emails,instant, chat or text messaging, posting to social media, blogs, ornewsgroups, and any other communication activity of communicationchannels 150.

Platform interface 110 including server 112 and database 114 are coupledwith network 160 using communications link 161, which may be anywireline, wireless, or other link suitable to support datacommunications between platform interface 110 and network 160. Clouddatastore 120 including server 122 and database 124 are coupled withnetwork 160 using communications link 162, which may be any wireline,wireless, or other link suitable to support data communications betweencloud datastore 120 and network 160. One or more entities 130 includingserver 132 and database 134 are coupled with network 160 usingcommunications link 163, which may be any wireless or other linksuitable to support data communications between one or more entities 130and network 160. One or more end user systems 140 is coupled withnetwork 160 using communications link 140, which may be any wireline,wireless, or other link suitable to support data communications betweenone or more end user systems 140 and network 160. Communication channels150 is coupled with network 160 using communications link 150, which maybe any wireline, wireless, or other link suitable to support datacommunications between the communication channels 150 and network 160.

Although the communication links 161-165 are shown as generally couplingplatform interface 110, cloud datastore 120, one or more entities 130,one or more end user systems 140, and communication channels 150, withnetwork 160, platform interface 110, cloud datastore 120, one or moreentities 130, one or more end user systems 140, and communicationchannels 150 may communicate directly with each other according toparticular needs.

In an embodiment, network 160 includes the Internet, telephone lines,any appropriate local area networks LANs, MANs, or WANs, and any othercommunication network coupling platform interface 110, cloud datastore120, one or more entities 130, one or more end user systems 140,communication channels 150. For example, data may be maintained byplatform interface 110 or cloud datastore 120 at one or more locationsexternal to platform interface 110 and/or cloud datastore 120 and madeavailable to platform interface 110, cloud datastore 120, one or moreentities 130, one or more end user systems 140, and communicationchannels 150, using network 160 or in any other appropriate manner.Those skilled in the art will recognize that the complete structure andoperation of the communication network and other components withinsystem 100 are not depicted or described. Embodiments may be employed inconjunction with known communications networks and other components.

In one embodiment, platform interface 110, cloud datastore 120, one ormore entities 130, one or more end user systems 140, and/orcommunication channels 150, may each operate on one or more computers orcomputer systems that are integral to or separate from the hardwareand/or software that support system 100. In addition or as analternative, one or more users, such as entities or end users, may beassociated with system 100 including platform interface 110, clouddatastore 120, one or more entities 130, one or more end user systems140, and/or communication channels 150.

These one or more users may include, for example, one or more computersprogrammed to seamlessly manage customer communication from multiplechannels and/or one or more related tasks within system 100. Accordingto embodiments, a user may access information from multiple channelsthat is automatically funneled into the same place i.e., the clouddatastore, making managing customers and operations easier than everbefore. For example, when a telephone call comes into system 100, thatuser may view chat transcripts and easily sift through real time emailcorrespondence to ensure the highest quality and speed of service fortheir customers.

As used herein, the term “computer” or “computer system” includes anysuitable input device, such as a keypad, mouse, touch screen,microphone, or other device to input information. Any suitable outputdevice that may convey information associated with the operation ofsystem 100, including digital or analog data, visual information, oraudio information. Furthermore, the computer includes any suitable fixedor removable non-transitory computer-readable storage media, such asmagnetic computer disks, CD-ROM, or other suitable media to receiveoutput from and provide input to system 100. The computer also includesone or more processors and associated memory to execute instructions andmanipulate information according to the operation of system 100.

In one embodiment and as discussed in more detail below, system 100provides a shared communications platform system. That is, system 100comprises platform interface 110, cloud datastore 120, one or moreentities 130, one or more end user systems 140, and/or communicationchannels 150, which allows full transparency between one or moreentities 130 and one or more end user systems 140 to create a singleview of the end user system 140 account and relevant information viacloud datastore 120. In addition, or as an alternative, system 100functions as an enterprise solution that provides flexibility for one ormore entities 130 to setup and determine processes around theircorporate needs related to the interactions between an entity 130 andcustomers using end user system 140 over various communication channels150. Accordingly, system 100 provides one or more entities 130 a systemand method for capturing, identifying and automating a customer'scommunications and interactions with the entity 130 in a single placei.e., the cloud datastores 120, as described in more detail below.

FIG. 2 illustrates platform interface 110 of FIG. 1 in greater detailaccording to an embodiment. As discussed above, platform interface 110comprises one or more computers at one or more locations includingassociated input devices, output devices, non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media, processors, memory, or other componentsfor configuring, managing, and providing communications according to theoperation of system 100. In addition, and as discussed in more detailbelow, platform interface 110 comprises server 112 and database 114.Although platform interface 110 is shown and described as comprising asingle computer, server 112 and database 114; embodiments contemplateany suitable number of computers, servers or databases internal to orexternally coupled with platform interface 110. In addition, or as analternative, platform interface 110 may be located internal to one ormore entities 130. In other embodiments, platform interface 110 may belocated external to one or more entities 130 and may be located in, forexample, cloud datastore 120, according to particular needs.

Server 112 of platform interface 110 comprises user interface module210, administrator interface module 240, intelligence module 260, rulesengine 270, and communication interface module 280. Database 114 ofplatform interface 110 comprises entity data 202, communication data 204and case data 206. Although, the user interface module, administratorinterface module, intelligence module, rules engine, communicationinterface module, entity data, communication data and case data areshown and described; embodiments contemplate any type of data and anynumber of modules or engines, according to particular needs.

User interface module 210 of server 112 of platform interface 110provides services to configure the operation of system 100 and changewhich modules are executed and/or data is stored on one or more ofplatform interfaces 110, cloud datastores 120, one or more entities 130,and/or one or more end user systems 140. According to embodiments userinterface module 210 generates a graphical user interface, described inmore detail below, for configuring, monitoring, and interpretingcommunication channels 150 and communication activity of communicationdevices 134 of one or more entities 130 and communication devices 144 ofone or more end user systems 140. According to embodiments, variousfeatures of user interface module 210 include generating charts, storingand retrieving communication data 204, displaying notifications, andcreating and managing reports. In addition, user interface module 210retrieves data from database 114 including entity data 202,communication data 204, and case data 206 and manages, sorts, anddisplays the data. Embodiments contemplate a highly user-configurablesystem, such that the various modules or data may be stored eithersingularly or redundantly on database 114 and/or cloud datastore 120,according to particular needs.

According to embodiments, user interface module 210 also provides thecreation and setup of different types of users and assigns multipledifferent types of permissions to those users based on their roleswithin one or more entities 130. For example, on the customer serviceside, user interface module 210 provides for multiple types of userssuch as, for example, account managers, support agents, sales agents,onboarding specialists, and the like. According to embodiments, theseusers are provided access to the agent section of the user interfacewithin an agents section, such that, the users would have access todifferent tools such as, for example, internal and external chat, casecreation and modification, calendaring and task management,multi-channel communication including voice, email and chat and agentside analytics.

According to embodiments, the internal and external chat allows an agentto talk to either other agents of one or more entities 130 or toexternal customers, such as, one or more end user systems 140.Calendaring allows an agent to create and schedule relevant tasks oractivities and specify the necessary details on those activities such asrecipients, date/time/location, and the like. Multi-channelcommunication ensures seamless communication with one or more end usersystems 140, such as, for example, voice by using call-pop, whichtriggers an incoming call to pop-up on the agent's computer displayscreen. In addition, or as an alternative, if the phone number finds amatch with an existing case, account or contact in system 100, thedetails are populated on the call pop-up screen such that the agentknows who is calling. Once the call is complete, platform interface 110causes the call transcript to be transcribed as an interaction on eithera new case or an existing case.

In addition, embodiments provide for additional channels ofcommunication such as, email and chat. For example, when an email orchat comes into system 100, platform interface 110 either creates a newcase or automatically associates it to an existing case. In addition,every inbound email becomes an interaction on a case and at the end of achat, the chat transcript is also made an interaction on the particularcase. According to embodiments, any user on the agent side will alsohave access to agent side analytics that provides the user thesentiment, the account experience scores and the survey scores. Usingthe combination of these three analytics reports, the user may quicklydetect the sentiment of the customers associated with the one or moreend user systems 140 and is able to proactively formulate responses forany dissatisfied customers.

According to embodiments, user interface module 210 also provides accessto surveys and email marketing. According to embodiments, surveys allowa marketer of one or more entities 130 to design, create and managesurveys to obtain relevant feedback from one or more end user systems140. Email marketing provides the marketer several tools to design,create and send out emails over communication channels 150 pertaining tomarketing campaigns. In addition, or as an alternative, user interfacemodule 210 provides for one or more macros that allow a user to automateand increase the efficiency of communication with one or more end usersystems 140. For example, the macros enable a user to pre-write andstore templated questions and responses along with pre-set form fieldsettings. According to embodiments, these pre-set templates may beaccessed to ensure responses to common requests are fast and consistent.In addition, for added efficiency, rules may be used to trigger macrosautomatically, so common requests and repetitive tasks completelydisappear from the user's to-do list.

According to embodiments, new macros may either be created by setting anappropriate form field setting and also populating the requiredpredefined text either as a note or as an email. For example, if anadministrator is creating a macro, the macro may designate to be eithervisible only to the administrator or for all agents. In addition, if anagent is creating a macro, the agent may only designate the macro to bevisible to the agent. Once a Macro is created, the macro may beretrieved at any time using a macros option. Selecting this brings up alist of existing macros associated with one or more entities 130, whichan agent has access to view. The agent may select any of the existingmacros to apply the specific form field settings as well as populate thepre-defined email or note template that was created as part of the macrocreation.

Administration interface 240 of server 112 of platform interface 110comprises database builder 248, form builder 250 and table builder 258.According to embodiments, administration interface 240 allows theconfiguration of settings to present the data to the agents in anappropriate and relevant manner, as well as providing access toapplications to enhance the customer experience of using platforminterface 110. For example, administration interface 240 may provide oneor more system services to setup or configure the operation of system100, such as, user management, scheduling, setup, permission management,teams, configurations, controlling execution of modules and storage ofdata, including controlling the location of the storage of data. Thismay include setting up a telephone system or VOIP system to be monitoredby administration interface 240 and configuring the type ofcommunication activity that will be monitored over communicationchannels 150 and what communication data 204 will be collected andstored.

In addition, administration interface 240 provides two graphical userinterface views, an agent view and an administration view. The agentview is used by one or more entities 130, such as, for example, agentsor users who are actively providing customer relationship management andsupport to their customers. The administration view is used byadministrators to configure the agent's view via different settings andavailable applications in order to present the information to the agent.According to embodiments, the agent view comprises list views as well asform and relationship views.

The list view provides a list of all the available instances of theentity 130 that the user is viewing, such as, for example, a list ofaccounts, contacts, cases, locations, and the like. In addition,selecting the list view will open that specific instance of the entity130. Additionally, all of the entities 130 available to platforminterface 110 for the agent to use, will be displayed. In addition, oras an alternative, once an instance of an entity 130 (for a specificcase or a specific contact) has been selected, the view switches to theform and relationship view. In an exemplary embodiment, the relationshippanel shows all the relationships that have been configured for thisentity 130 and all the form fields available for this entity 130.

According to embodiments, the administration view is the section for theadministrator to configure all the elements of platform interface 110,so that the agents and/or users are presented with the information inthe most relevant manner possible. In addition, the administration viewcomprises several sub-sections such as, for example, user management,channels, smart topics and analytics, rules engine, engagement, casemanagement and data management. Each of one these sub-sections enablethe user to perform specific tasks. For example, the user managementallows the administrator to create and manage users as well as assignroles and permissions. The data management allows users to manipulatethe data in system 100 through multiple applications such as database114, form builder 250 and table builder 258. The case management enablesmanaging certain aspects of cases such as status and prioritymanagement. The tools and settings provide advanced security options tothe user such as, for example, an IP blacklist and email blacklist.

In embodiments, Database builder 248 allows administrators to setup thedatabase schema and tables as per the specific needs of a customer. Forexample, database builder 248 allows the administrator to create newdatabase entities and/or tables, add/edit the fields in these databasetables, and also add/edit relationships between multiple databasetables. That is, embodiments allow the database schema to be created anddesigned using database builder 248.

In addition, or as an alternative, database builder 248 allowsperforming specific actions such as, for example, setting fields asunique or required, setting a field as a primary display field, and alsobeing able to support all the common field types needed to represent thedata such as number, text, currency, date, and the like. As an exampleonly and not by way of limitation, database builder 248 provides theability to create relationships between different entities and/ortables. These relationships may be of multiple cardinalities such as aone to one (1:1) or many to one (M:1) or a many to many (M:M)relationship. In addition, this may be between different entities 130 ormay be within the same entity 130, such as, for example, when a case hasa relationship to itself to represent parent cases and sub-cases.

According to embodiments, form builder 250 and table builder 258 allowadministration users of one or more entities 130 to configure variousviews based on conditions of each audience within a company, such as,for example, a department, a team, a status or individuals. Form builder250 determines data fields within cloud datastore 120 available forviewing based on predefined conditions, such as, for example, whichdepartment or individual is viewing the customer. Form builder 250allows for the flexibility of platform interface 110 to design formsbased on status such as, for example, active or non-active customersincluding pre-sale forms that provide status such as, for example, lead,quote, sales, account, or the like. Table builder 258 determines whichfields may be viewed in a table view based on the same principles asdescribed above.

In addition, or as an alternative, administration interface 240 ofplatform interface 110 allows for forms to be created for specificconditions, such as, for example, departments. As described below inmore detail and at the time of the form creation, the administrationusers may pick and choose the conditions to be associated with the form,such as, for example, case departments. By doing this, this ensures thatonly people in those departments will be privy to see the form specificto their department. According to embodiments, multiple forms may becreated for the same entity 130, and each of the multiple forms may havedifferent fields specific to the conditions they are being created for.

According to embodiments, table builder 258 allows the administrator toconfigure a grid or list view or table view, which allows theadministrator to select particular columns to be displayed for agentsfor that grid. In addition, this enables the administrator to not onlyselect the columns that are native to the entity for which the grid isbeing constructed but also enables selection of columns that representrelationships of this entity to other entities. For example, these maybe single level or multi-level relationships, thus allowing the user tosee relevant fields of related entities also at a glance in the grid ofthe primary entity.

In addition, and as discussed above with respect to the agent view ofthe graphical user interface views of administration interface 240, theadministration view may also have multiple types of users such as, forexample, administrators, operational managers and the like. These usersmay also have access to different tools in the administration view suchas an administration dashboard, database builder 248, form builder 250,table builder 258, rules engine 270, administration analytics andgamification.

According to embodiments, the administration dashboard providesadministration side users a quick view of the administration user andprovides a segway to different sections such as smart topics, clouddatastores 120, rules engine 270 and data migration. Smart topics allowa user to create and configure topics on the backend as needed,including assigning topic points and SLA times for cases associated withthe topic. In addition, or as an alternative, the smart topics providesa powerful suggestion tool for the agents. For example, every time atopic is created, the natural language processing engine of intelligencemodule 260 stores that topic and the relevant information. Thereafter,if a case is created that has similar information to the one previouslycreated, platform interface 110 will automatically suggest topics forthe user to be able to correctly represent the topic of a case.

In addition, the administration dashboard also provides a high-levelview of administration side analytics. The database builder 248, formbuilder 250, and table builder 258 allow an administrator to manipulatethe database schema and create forms and tables for specific entities130 based on conditions, such as, for example, departments. In addition,and as discussed below, rules engine 270 allows an administrator tosetup business rules to automate tasks and also provide appropriatenotifications, according to particular needs. The administrationanalytics provides a complete view by conditions, such as departments ofall the relevant data such as open cases and split of the cases bycommunication channels 150. Gamification is a sub-section underanalytics which facilitates an administrator to not only do a comparisonof different users but also allows the administrator to setupgames/targets to use a motivational tool to increase user performance.

Intelligence module 260 of server 112 of platform interface 110comprises natural language processing (NLP), prediction analysis,machine learning and smart reporting. According to embodiments,intelligence module 260 provides natural language processing such as,for example, transcribing an email, voice (call recording) or chat andperforming the transcription to look for specific keywords in order toidentify the sentiment of a conversation. In addition, or as analternative, intelligence module 260 creates reports based upon thosekeywords, such as, how many times a word was used in a communication, aday, during a case and the like. In addition, intelligence module 260uses machine learning to perform topic prediction, based on, forexample, previously categorized cases. As an example only and not by wayof limitation, if case A is set to be a topic of a new customer, andintelligence module 260 compares all of the cases in database 114 and/ordatabase 124 of cloud datastores 120 to determine if a new case isconsistent with a previous case, based on a predetermined threshold,such as, for example, 75% or 95%.

Rules engine 270 of server 112 of platform interface 110 enablesadministrators to setup business rules in order to automate severaltasks and also take automatic action upon timed triggers being executed.According to embodiments, rules engine 270 may be accessed fromadministration interface 240 and comprises three elements—trigger,conditions and actions. The trigger refers to an event that happenswhich results in relevant conditions and actions being executed. Thetrigger may either start on a particular event or start at a particularperiod of time, such as, a particular date and/or a particular time. Inaddition, based on the trigger, multiple conditions may be setup to beevaluated. According to embodiments, a condition comprises an entity, anoperator and a value. In addition, there may be multiple conditionstatements within a single condition, and multiple conditional blockswithin a single condition, in order to construct simple and complexconditions.

In an embodiment, rules engine 270 provides a list of all the rulescurrently in system 100, the editing of triggers, conditions andactions, and shows the flow of the rule with the elements and branchesas constructed by a user. In addition, an action is the task that needsto be performed upon the successful completion of a condition orconditions. For example, a create/update action will result in entities130 being created or updated based on the relevant conditions and anotification action that results in a notification being sent out uponthe successful evaluation of a condition/conditions. As an example onlyand not by way of limitation, the notification may be an emailnotification, an in-app web notification, an SMS notification, or thelike.

Communication interface module 280 of server 112 of platform interface110 generates, receives, and monitors communication between one or moreentities 130 and one or more end user systems 140. Communicationinterface module 280 may comprise one or more telephone systems, instantmessaging systems, voice over internet protocol (VOIP) systems, emailsystems, internet or web-based chat systems, and/or other types ofcommunication systems used for allowing each of one or more entities 130to communicate with each other and/or one or more end user systems 140.Communication interface module 280 may comprise or couple with acommunication system, which initiates or receives communication activityover communication channels 150 to communication devices 134 of one ormore entities 130 and/or communication devices 144 of one or more enduser systems 140. For example, communication interface module 280 maycomprise a software-based telephone system that automatically recordscommunication activity that occurs over communication devices withinsystem 100. This may include recording the time, duration, date, voice,text, and other communication activity transmitted over variouscommunication channels. Although described as a software-based telephonesystem, communication interface module 280 may comprise any suitablehardware or software that monitors and records any communicationactivity in system 100, according to particular needs. In someembodiments, the communication activity recorded by communicationinterface module 280 is stored in communication data 204, database 114and/or cloud datastores 120.

Entity data 202 stored on database 114 of platform interface 110describes the identification information of one or more entities 130 ofsystem 100. Entity data 202 comprises any suitable identificationinformation and may comprise, for example, names, addresses, company,telephone numbers, email, IP addresses, and the like. Entity data 202may be used by platform interface 110 to identify one or more entities130 to generate particular configurations of system 100 specific to eachof the one or more entities 130. For example, where one or more entities130 comprises departments, call groups, users, locations, agents,employee roles, or telephone numbers, the identification informationstored in entity data 202 permits platform interface 110 to report,chart, graph, or identify tends or goals specific to the identified orselected departments, call groups, users, locations, agents, employeeroles, or telephone numbers, according to particular needs.

Communication data 204 stored on database 114 of platform interface 110may comprise communication activity of communication devices 134 of oneor more entities 130 and any setup information of communicationinterface module 280. According to some embodiments, communication data204 comprises the particular communication channels 150, which are opento entities 130, a particular end user system 140, the times, whichcommunication channels 150 are open, the protocols or metadata thatdescribe the communication, and/or any other configuration and setupdata necessary to configure the communication systems. According to someembodiments, communication data 204 comprises information about eachcommunication, such as, for example, which entity 130, end user system140 n, or user, from which the communication originated and/or to whomthe communication was placed or transferred. Platform interface 110 mayautomatically collect data with every communication activity, andassociate a time stamp with each action. In addition, each user orcommunication may be associated with a role, entity, end user system,department, call group, location, agent, or telephone number. A role maycomprise, for example, a job, position, employment status, or the like.

Case data 206 stored on database 114 of platform interface 110 maycomprise data generated by one or more entities 130 and/or one or moreend user systems 140. In one embodiment, case data 206 includes, but isnot limited to: an identity of the representative of entities 130 whichcreated the case, end user systems 140 or a company to which the caserelates, the channel by which a user contacted the representative of oneor more entities 130, the number of contacts between one or more enduser systems 140 and one or more entities 130, the total time spent byend user systems 140 on each channel, the time and date of the casecreation, a topic and information shared during the contact between oneor more entities 130 and one or more user systems 140, the content ofthe communication, and/or the like.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate the communication devices of one or moreentities 130 and one or more end user systems 120 of FIG. 1 in greaterdetail according to an embodiment. FIG. 3A illustrates one or moreentities 130 of FIG. 1 in greater detail according to an embodiment. Oneor more entities 130 comprises server 132, communication devices 134,database 136, and/or communication links 310-316 which may be configuredto communicate with network 160, platform interface 110, cloud datastore120, and communication devices 144 of one or more end user systems 140.As discussed herein, communication devices 134 provide a channel ofcommunication via communication links 310-316 to communication channels150 between one or more entities 130 and one or more end user systems140 via network 160.

In one embodiment, one or more communication devices 302-308 may eachoperate on separate computer systems or may operate on one or moreshared computer systems. Each of these one or more computer systems maybe a computer system 302, such as a work station, personal computer,network computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, tablet-type device304, smartphone 306, terminal, or any other suitable communicationdevice 124. In addition, communication devices 134 may comprise aland-line or VoIP telephone 308. According to embodiments each of thecommunication devices 134 are configured to communicate withcommunication devices 144 over a communication channel 150.

FIG. 3B illustrates one or more end user systems 140 of FIG. 1 ingreater detail according to an embodiment. One or more end user systems140 comprises server 142, communication devices 144, database 146,and/or communication links 320-326 which may be configured tocommunicate with network 160, platform interface 110, cloud datastore120, and communication devices 144 of one or more entities 130. Asdiscussed herein, communication devices 144 provide a channel ofcommunication via communication links 310-316 to communication channels150 between one or more end user systems 140 and one or more entities130 via network 160.

In one embodiment, one or more communication devices 332-338 may eachoperate on separate computer systems or may operate on one or moreshared computer systems. Each of these one or more computer systems maybe a computer system 332, such as a work station, personal computer,network computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, tablet-type device334, smartphone 336, terminal, or any other suitable communicationdevice 144. In addition, communication devices 144 may comprise aland-line or VoIP telephone 338. According to embodiments each of thecommunication devices 144 are configured to communicate withcommunication devices 134 over a communication channel 150.

In addition, or as an alternative, computer systems 302 and 332, one ormore tablet-type devices 304 and 334, smartphones 306 and 336, andland-line or VoIP telephones 308 and 338 may comprise a processor,memory and data storage. The processor may execute an operating systemprogram stored in memory to control the overall operation of computersystems 302 and 332, one or more tablet-type devices 304 and 334 and/orsmartphones 306 and 336. For example, the processor may control thereception of signals and the transmission of signals within system 100.The processor may execute other processes and programs resident inmemory, such as, for example, registration, identification orcommunication over the communication channels and move data into or outof the memory, as required by an executing process.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that one or more specificexamples of communication devices 302-308 and 332-338 are given by wayof example and that for simplicity and clarity, only so much of theconstruction and operation of one or more communication devices 302-308and 332-338 as is necessary for an understanding of the presentinvention is shown and described. Moreover, it is understood that one ormore communication devices 302-308 and 332-338 should not be construedto limit the types of devices in which embodiments of the presentinvention may be implemented. For example, one or more communicationdevices 302-308 and 332-338 may be any device, including, but notlimited to, conventional cellular or mobile telephones, smart mobilephones, an IPHONE ™, an IPAD ™, wireless tablet devices, paging devices,personal digital assistant devices, short message service (SMS) wirelessdevices, portable computers, or any other device capable of wireless ornetwork communication.

According to embodiments, each of the one or more communication devices302-308 and 332-338 may be assigned one or more identification numbers,such as IP addresses, serial numbers, or telephone numbers that may beused to identify communication devices 302-308 and 332-338. According tosome embodiments, each communication device 302-308 and 332-338 isassociated with an identification number, such as an IP or MAC address.In addition, or as an alternative, communication 302-308 and 332-338 maybe local to or remote from one or more entities 120 and one or more enduser systems 140. That is, communication devices 302-308 of one or moreentities 120 may communicate with communication devices 332-338 of oneor more end user systems 140. For example, platform interface 110 isprogrammed to monitor and analyze communication activity viacommunication channels, such as, for example, telephone calls, emails,instant, chat or text messaging, posting to social media, blogs, ornewsgroups, and any other communication activity between communicationdevices 302-308 of one or more entities 120 and communication devices332-338 of one or more end user systems 140.

That is, communication devices 134 of one or more entities 130 maycommunicate with communication devices 144 of one or more end usersystems 140. For example, platform interface 110 is programmed tomonitor and analyze communication activity via communication channels150, such as, for example, telephone calls, emails, instant, chat ortext messaging, posting to social media, blogs, or newsgroups, and anyother communication activity of communication channels 150 and betweencommunication devices 144 of one or more end user systems 140 andcommunication devices 134 of one or more entities 130. In addition, oras an alternative, platform interface 110 provides one or more end usersystems 140 access to one or more cloud datastores 120 and/or one ormore entities 130 in order to communicate over communication channels150.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary method 400, according to an embodiment.The process of method 400 proceeds by one or more activities, whichalthough illustrated in a particular order may be performed in one ormore permutations, according to particular needs.

Method 400 beings at activity 402 where an entity 130 communicates withplatform interface 110. As discussed above, platform interface 110 isprogrammed to communicate and interact with cloud datastore 120, one ormore entities 130 and one or more end user systems 140 and provide dataintegrity which allows full transparency between one or more entities130 and one or more end user systems 140 to create a single view ofcustomer account and relevant information. In addition, the entity 130communicates with and receives communication from platform interface 110using communication channels 150. These communication channels may be,for example, telephone calls, emails, instant, chat or text messaging,posting to social media, blogs, or newsgroups, and any othercommunication activity of communication channels 150.

At activity 404, platform interface 110 creates an initial user for anadministrator of entity 130 using an email address and contactinformation. As discussed above, platform interface 110 provides for thecreation and setup of different types of users and assigns multipledifferent types of permissions to those users based on their roleswithin one or more entities 130. For example, on the customer serviceside, user interface module 210 provides for multiple types of userssuch as, for example, account managers, support agents, sales agents,onboarding specialists, and the like. According to embodiments, theadministrator of entity 130 will be the initial account manager.

At activity 406, the account manager of entity 130 logs into platforminterface 110 as the account manager for entity 130. At activity 408,the account manager of entity 130 creates the organization anddepartments of entity 130 including the end user systems 140. Inaddition, the account manager i.e., administration users of entity 130configures various views based on conditions of each audience within theentity 130, such as, for example, departments, teams, statuses orindividuals. As discussed above, system 100 provides a sharedcommunications platform system that allows full transparency between oneor more entities 130 and one or more end user systems 140 to create asingle view of the end user system 140 account and relevant informationvia cloud datastore 120. In addition, or as an alternative, the accountmanager sets up and determines processes around entities 130 corporateneeds related to the interactions between the entity 130 and itscustomers using end user system 140 over various communication channels150.

At activity 410 platform interface 110 creates multiple types of usersfor entity 130 and assigns multiple types of permissions to those usersbased on their roles in entity 130. At activity 412, the account managersets up the database schema and tables as per the specific needs ofentity 130, using database builder 248. For example, database builder248 creates new database entities and/or tables, add/edit the fields inthese database tables, and also add/edit relationships between multipledatabase tables. In addition, or as an alternative, database builder 248allows the account manager to perform specific actions such as, forexample, setting fields as unique or required, setting a field as aprimary display field, and also being able to support all the commonfield types needed to represent the data such as number, text, currency,date, and the like. In addition, database builder 248 allows the accountmanager the ability to create relationships between different entitiesand/or tables. These relationships may be of multiple cardinalities suchas a one to one (1:1) or many to one (M:1) or a many to many (M:M)relationship.

At activity 414, platform interface 110 creates the forms for thedatabase tables created in activity 412 using database builder 248. Asdiscussed above, administration interface 240 of platform interface 110allows for forms to be created for specific conditions, such as, forexample, departments. In addition, and at the time of the form creation,the account manager may pick and choose the conditions to be associatedwith the form, such as, for example, case departments. By doing this,this ensures that only people in those departments will see the formspecific to their department. In addition, or as an alternative, theaccount manager may create multiple forms for entity 130, and each ofthe multiple forms may have different fields specific to the conditionsthey are being created for.

At activity 416, table builder 258 of platform interface 110 allows theaccount manager to configure a grid or list view or table view, whichallows the administrator to select particular columns to be displayedfor agents for that grid. In addition, and as discussed above, thisenables the administrator to not only select the columns that are nativeto the entity for which the grid is being constructed but also enablesselection of columns that represent relationships of this entity toother entities. For example, these may be single level or multi-levelrelationships, thus allowing the user to see relevant fields of relatedentities also at a glance in the grid of the primary entity.

At activity 418, platform interface 110 creates smart topics associatedwith entity 130. As discussed above, smart topics allow a user to createand configure topics, including assigning topic points and SLA times forcases associated with the topic. In addition, the smart topics providesa powerful suggestion tool for the agents. For example, every time atopic is created, the natural language processing engine of intelligencemodule 260 stores that topic and the relevant information. Thereafter,if a case is created that has similar information to the one previouslycreated, platform interface 110 will automatically suggest topics forthe user to be able to correctly represent the topic of a case.

Platform interface 110 allows the account manager of entity 130 tomanage cases such as status at activity 420 and priority management atactivity 422. As discussed above, form builder 250 and table builder 258allows the account manager to configure various views based onconditions of each audience within entity 130, such as, for example, astatus. In addition, or as an alternative, form builder 250 allows forthe flexibility of platform interface 110 to design forms based onstatus such as, for example, active or non-active customers includingpre-sale forms that provide status such as, for example, lead, quote,sales, account, or the like. The account manager may also specify theorder of the priorities from highest to lowest and vice-versa.

At activity 424, the account manager of entity 130 uses rules engine 270to setup business rules to automate tasks, take automatic action upontimed triggers being executed and also provide appropriatenotifications. As discussed above, rules engine 270 provides a list ofall the rules currently in system 100, the editing of triggers,conditions and actions, and shows the flow of the rule with the elementsand branches as constructed by the account manager of entity 130. Inaddition, an action is the task that needs to be performed upon thesuccessful completion of a condition or conditions. For example, acreate/update action will result in entity 130 being created or updatedbased on the relevant conditions and a notification action that resultsin a notification being sent out upon the successful evaluation of acondition/conditions.

According to embodiments, user interface module 210 of platforminterface 110 provides the account manager access to email marketing atactivity 426 and surveys at activity 428. The email marketing providesthe account manager several tools to design, create and send out emailsover communication channels 150 pertaining to marketing campaigns ofentity 130. In addition, the surveys provides the account manager theability to design, create and manage surveys to obtain relevant feedbackfrom one or more end user systems 140. In addition, and as discussedabove, user interface module 210 provides for one or more macros thatallow the account manager to automate and increase the efficiency ofcommunication between the entity 130 and one or more end user systems140. For example, the macros enable the account manager to pre-write andstore templated questions and responses along with pre-set form fieldsettings. Accordingly, these pre-set templates may be accessed to ensureresponses to common requests are fast and consistent.

Reference in the foregoing specification to “one embodiment”, “anembodiment”, or “some embodiments” means that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearancesof the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specificationare not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

While the exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, it willbe understood that various changes and modifications to the foregoingembodiments may become apparent to those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a computer coupled with theone or more databases and configured to: process, by a natural languageprocessing engine, one or more communication activities from one or moremonitored communication channels, the one or more communicationactivities occurring between a customer and an agent; identify one ormore sentiments in the one or more communication activities; receive anew communication activity from the one or more monitored communicationchannels; determine the new communication activity is not an interactionof a previous case; assign the new communication activity to a new case;and predict one or more topics for the new case by selecting at leastone topic of one or more topics based, at least in part, on stored casedata of at least one case categorized to each of the one or more topics,the stored case data having a similarity to case data of the new casegreater than a predetermined threshold.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the computer is further configured to: create and setupdifferent types of users; and assign multiple different types ofpermissions based on one or more roles.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the computer is further configured to: create and schedule oneor more tasks or one or more activities; and specify one or more detailsbased on the scheduled one or more tasks or one or more activities. 4.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer is further configured tocreate and design a database schema by: creating one or more newdatabase entities and one or more database tables; adding or editing oneor more fields in the one or more database tables; and adding or editingone or more relationships between two or more of the database tables. 5.The system of claim 4, wherein the computer is further configured to:configure a grid view for selection of one or more columns to bedisplayed, wherein the selection of the one or more columns representone or more relationships of an entity to one or more other entities. 6.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer is further configured to:assign each of the one or more communication activities to a case; andassign a status and a priority to the case.
 7. The system of claim 1,wherein the computer is further configured to: automate one or moretasks based at least in part on editing of one or more triggers, one ormore conditions and one or more actions.
 8. A computer-implementedmethod, comprising: processing, by a natural language processing engine,one or more communication activities from one or more monitoredcommunication channels, the one or more communication activitiesoccurring between a customer and an agent; identifying, by a computercomprising a processor and memory, one or more sentiments in the one ormore communication activities; receiving, by the computer, a newcommunication activity from the one or more monitored communicationchannels; determining, by the computer, the new communication activityis not an interaction of a previous case; assigning, by the computer,the new communication activity to a new case; and predicting, by thecomputer, one or more topics for the new case by selecting at least onetopic of one or more topics based, at least in part, on stored case dataof at least one case categorized to each of the one or more topics, thestored case data having a similarity to case data of the new casegreater than a predetermined threshold.
 9. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 8, further comprising: creating and setting up, by thecomputer, different types of users; and assigning, by the computer,multiple different types of permissions based on one or more roles. 10.The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising: creatingand scheduling, by the computer, one or more tasks or one or moreactivities; and specifying, by the computer, one or more details basedon the scheduled one or more tasks or one or more activities.
 11. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising: creating anddesigning, by the computer, a database schema by: creating one or morenew database entities and one or more database tables; adding or editingone or more fields in the one or more database tables; and adding orediting one or more relationships between two or more of the databasetables.
 12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, furthercomprising: configuring, by the computer, a grid view for selection ofone or more columns to be displayed, wherein the selection of the one ormore columns represent one or more relationships of an entity to one ormore other entities.
 13. The computer-implemented method of claim 8,further comprising: assigning, by the computer, each of the one or morecommunication activities to a case; and assigning, by the computer, astatus and a priority to the case.
 14. The computer-implemented methodof claim 8, further comprising: automating, by the computer, one or moretasks based at least in part on editing of one or more triggers, one ormore conditions and one or more actions.
 15. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium embodied with software, the software whenexecuted: processes, by a natural language processing engine, one ormore communication activities from one or more monitored communicationchannels, the one or more communication activities occurring between acustomer and an agent; identifies one or more sentiments in the one ormore communication activities; receives a new communication activityfrom the one or more monitored communication channels; determines thenew communication activity is not an interaction of a previous case;assigns the new communication activity to a new case; and predicts oneor more topics for the new case by selecting at least one topic of oneor more topics based, at least in part, on stored case data of at leastone case categorized to each of the one or more topics, the stored casedata having a similarity to case data of the new case greater than apredetermined threshold.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable mediumof claim 15, wherein the software when executed further: creates andsets up different types of users; and assigns multiple different typesof permissions based on one or more roles.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the software when executedfurther: creates and schedules one or more tasks or one or moreactivities; and specifies one or more details based on the scheduled oneor more tasks or one or more activities.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the software when executedfurther: creates one or more new database entities and one or moredatabase tables; adds or edits one or more fields in the one or moredatabase tables; and adds or edits one or more relationships between twoor more of the database tables.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 18, wherein the software when executed further:configures a grid view for selection of one or more columns to bedisplayed, wherein the selection of the one or more columns representone or more relationships of an entity to one or more other entities.20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein thesoftware when executed further: assigns each of the one or morecommunication activities to a case; and assigns a status and a priorityto the case.